A French Coffee Sack Chair

Our new home is considered TEXAS French Country. Bet you didn’t know there was such a thing! Well, I’m here to tell you.. there is. I live in it! It’s lovely! With that being said, when we knew we were going to be moving into this home, I went on a mad search for things that would fit nicely in a French Country home.

While driving to pick up lunch one day, I saw these people putting away things from their garage sale. I quickly eyed everything I could as I drove by in search of anything that might fit in our new home.

There she was… a French chair.

I quickly turned the car around, parked and got out to inspect her. She looked brand new!! She was made by La-Z-Boy!! I wasn’t particularly fond of the fabric, but I figured at some point, I could change that.

Then, there was a problem.

She had a sticker on her for $30. I only had $10.

In my sweetest voice, I asked the man if there was any way he would take $10 for the chair.

He explained that the chair was his mom’s, and he’d have to ask her if that was OK, but he was sure she wouldn’t sell it for that.

He excused himself and walked off down the hill to call her.

I stood there anxiously waiting as he called and spoke to her on the phone.

When he came back to me he exclaimed, “SOLD! Need any help putting it in your car?”

I told him I could take care of it, handed him the money and loaded her up!

When I got home, I excitedly showed her to my hubby. He took one look at her and said, “That is the ugliest chair I think I’ve ever seen!”

I tried not to cry and said, “But she was only $10, and she’s PERFECT for the new house!”

In the end he said the chair was OK, and loved that I got it for only $10!

Fast forward to today. This chair sits in our formal living/office/random furniture room. I look at it everyday. The more I see it, the more I dislike it.

I’m not quite sure what it is about the chair that I don’t like. Maybe it’s the color of the chair. Maybe it’s the fabric. Maybe it’s the fabric WITH the color of the chair! Either way, it was either going to get sold or or it was going to get reupholstered.

I decided to reupholster it. I wasn’t sure when, but it was going to be soon.

As I was shopping at a local craft mall on Friday, I spied some old feed sacks. I’ve seen a lot of really neat ideas for feed sacks on Pinterest, so I bought 3 of them.

When I got home, I sat down at my computer, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the chair.

I thought of the feed sacks.

PERFECT!!!!

I decided it would be the perfect chair for my FIRST reupholster job!

I was scared.

I was nervous.

The first thing I did was to take it all apart.

Once it was apart, I painted it white, distressed it, and stained it.

I’ve had lots of practice at covering seat cushions, so the cushion was pretty easy.

Because the feed sacks are sewn on one side, I wasn’t able to center the burlap on the chair cushion.

It’s rustic right? So it’s OK if it’s not centered… right?

This is what I keep telling myself anyways.

Next, I stapled the burlap to the arms and the center circle.

Originally, I was going to use antiqued nail brads to nail the fabric back on the chair.

After trying to hammer in three or four, I gave up.

Because I’m a tad bit OCD, trying to get the nails to go in straight AND be evenly spaced apart could have possibly sent me to the loony bin!

Stapling proved to be a much smarter option!

When I realized the nails weren’t going to work, I was at a loss for how I was going to cover up my staples.

That’s when I saw it.

The old trim from the chair!!

I pulled off the old fabric….

…and wrapped the rope in my leftover burlap. I used a hot glue gun to glue the edges together.

Next, I used the staple gun and the glue gun to wrap the rope back into place.

Once all the trim was back in place, she was done!!!

It took me a total of two days to complete this chair, but it was totally worth it!!

My name is Claire and I am behind the blog... The Rustic Pig. I am a wife, a mother to 2 boys, and I just might be addicted to Craigslist. I love to buy antiques, paint them, and give them a chance to be loved again! Please feel free to pull up a chair and stay for a while. If you ask a question or leave a comment, I will be sure to get back to you as soon as possible!

Hi Kim! Thanks! Honestly, I think the before chair was OK too… I think that is what always makes me nervous when I redo a piece that is really fine before. I’m always terrified I’m not going to like it and then end up wishing I hadn’t touched it! Luckily, it turned out fine! Thanks again!!Hugs!!

Hi Casandra! I have always been TERRIFIED of reupholstering! I think taking pictures along the way really helps! If I couldn’t remember how it was put together, I always had a picture to look at! Also, it was only a $10 chair, so if I ruined it, I wouldn’t be too sad! Thanks so much for stopping by! HUGS!!!

Wow! You have done an incredible job with that chair! I’ve got an “Ugly Betty” almost like this one. I’ve got your tutorial pinned for when I get to this project. I only hope mine turns out half as good.

Hi Lynn! Thanks for pinning! I hope it helps! Not sure if I posted this or not, but be sure to take lots of pictures as you are taking it apart. It helps if you can’t remember how was put together! Good luck! I’d love to see when you decide to try it!! Hugs!!

Claire! I just found your through Debbiedoos! I love this chair! Burlap and newutral and gorgeous! It is just perfect. I need two. ;0I foudn your through Debbiedoos, I hope you will stop by and see me too!

I LOVE your chair! You would never know this was your first upholstery job! I have a similar chair ripped apart sitting in my garage and I just keep passing it by to do something else. Such a BIG job! Sigh!!! You have inspired me to JUST DO IT! Pin worthy! ~ Judy

Thanks Judy!!! You’re right!! It is a BIG job!! If I had known the time it was going to involve, I wonder if I would have done it. I’m glad I did though! I’m so honored to have you stop by!! I love your blog and everything you do!!! Thanks for following and for your sweet comments! Hugs!!!

About Me

My name is Claire and I am behind the blog... The Rustic Pig. I am a wife, a mother to 2 boys, and I just might be addicted to Craigslist. I love to buy antiques, paint them, and give them a chance to be loved again! Please feel free to pull up a chair and stay for a while. If you ask a question or leave a comment, I will be sure to get back to you as soon as possible!